Spaghetti Squash Casserole

It’s the festive season, Christmas is less than three weeks away. Which means getting started on all that Christmas cooking and baking. And eating…

Not really the most healthy time of the year. But instead of denying yourselves all that deliciousness, enjoy it! No, I don’t mean to go binge on it all. But don’t feel guilty for it either. Just enjoy a nice buttery, sugary cookie here, a luscious dessert there and counterbalance those with some healthy meals.

I’m so thrilled that we can finally get spaghetti squash over here! My first try was simply using the flesh as spaghetti (as the name so obviously suggests) and serving it with a beefy sauce. Didn’t post a recipe, just a picture on Instagram. People in this area didn’t know what they should think about it. To them, the dish looked kind of weird and they had never heard of spaghetti squash before. Reactions were, well, sort of reserved. Anyway, how foreign and weird it might have been, it was an instant hit with the boys. Enough encouragement for me to buy another spaghetti squash and experiment a bit further.

And as it’s winter time and we have freezing temperatures outside, I’m craving casseroles. Hearty, warming casseroles, that give you that cosy feeling. And casseroles could not get any easier than this one. It does take a bit a preparation time, though. But you can prep this beforehand, so when it’s almost dinner time, it’s done in a flash.

To prep your spaghetti squash, preheat your oven to 200ºC (about 400F). Then cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Be careful not to scrape out too much flesh.

Then brush the cut halves with a bit of olive oil en sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the halves cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Pierce the skin a few times with a fork.

Bake for ca. 45-60 minutes. They are done when you can fairly easily pierce the skin with a fork.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Then carefully scrape out the flesh with a fork. Set aside.